Whether it was the presence of their siblings on the two-game road trip or they were just sick and tired of the way their game had been trending, the 2022-23 Bruins — as we have come to know them — appear to be back.
After their thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, the Bruins clicked in all areas to crush the Nashville Predators, 5-0, at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
The Bruins got offense from some old familiar sources, they snapped their power-play drought, enjoyed another perfect penalty-killing night (3 for 3) and Jeremy Swayman (29 saves) recorded the shutout for the convincing win.
There was little doubt in this one from the get-go.
The Bruins' dynamic duo of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand have been unusually quiet of late. Marchand had a five-game pointless streak going into the game and Bergeron was at a half-dozen games. In the Bruins' dramatic 3-2 win in Dallas on Tuesday, they had little room to breathe.
But it didn’t take them long to make their mark on Thursday when Marchand took advantage of a defensive mistake by an old friend. When a left shot point went wide, Marchand caught right defenseman Jeremy Lauzon in too deep and was off to the races when the puck rimmed around on the right side. On a 3-on-1, Marchand played a nice give-and-go with Bergeron and buried a shot that Nashville’s excellent goalie, Juuse Saros, had no chance of stopping at 2:54. It was Marchand’s 17th goal of the season and it set the tone for the night
Much like they did in Dallas, the Bruins dominated the first period, outshooting the Preds 18-8 and killing off two penalties very well. But their streak of futility on the power play stretched to a 0-for-21 skid and they could not extend the lead in the opening 20 minutes.
But unlike Tuesday’s game in Dallas, the Bruins did get the second goal of the game just 1:11 into the second — and, again, Lauzon is in the thick of it. Former Predator Craig Smith bore down on Saros on his off wing and flipped what looked like a harmless backhander off the netminder. But with Marchand battling in the crease, Lauzon tried to bat the aerial rebound away from the Bruin but instead knocked it into his own net.
If they weren’t feeling good about themselves, the Bruins finally cashed in a power play at 8:06. After Nashville cleared the puck, Hampus Lindholm hit Bergeron with a perfect stretch pass for a clean break-in. The captain picked his spot over Saros’ glove and buried his 19th of the season and his first PP goal in 18 games.
The Bruins kept building their lead. At 11:15, Derek Forbort notched his career-high fifth goal of the season when his wrister went off the stick — guess who? — Lauzon and behind Saros.
By that point, the Bruins fans in Bridgestone Arena at least sounded like they were outnumbering the Preds fans, one of whom didn’t even wait till the Preds scored a goal before throwing the customary catfish on the ice in the final seconds of the period.
The Bruins played a sound, defensive third period until Trent Frederic knocked his 11th of the season in off a pretty Nick Foligno pass at 13:47 to put the Preds to sleep.
